


Living and Surviving are Different Types of Existing

by MelissaMelody



Series: RoyEd Month 2020 [6]
Category: Fullmetal Alchemist - All Media Types
Genre: M/M, Old!Ed, Time Travel, time loops
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-05-08
Updated: 2020-05-08
Packaged: 2021-03-03 01:33:37
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 714
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24066640
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MelissaMelody/pseuds/MelissaMelody
Summary: He wanted to say that it was a photograph of his dad, but the person next to him couldn’t have been anyone else. Not while wearing those gloves.
Relationships: Edward Elric/Roy Mustang
Series: RoyEd Month 2020 [6]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1726057
Comments: 2
Kudos: 134





	Living and Surviving are Different Types of Existing

Ed gasped, filling his lungs so harshly the air felt icy in his chest despite being warm on his skin. He looked up sharply, swinging his head back and forth. The room was dim, lit by really just a lamp in the corner. There didn’t appear to be anyone in the room, but a clinking on the other side of a doorway indicated someone else.

Ed picked himself up very quietly, standing gingerly on what he was pretty sure was only a sprained ankle. He put weight on it and hissed.

What he  _ hoped _ was only a sprained ankle. 

Ed’s eyes were beginning to adjust to the light level of the room, revealing a fairly standard living room. A couple of couches, a few comfy looking chairs, over-filled bookshelves, and some hutches covered in photographs. 

The clinking didn’t change from the other room. It was rhythmic enough for Ed to figure out it was dishes being washed. 

_ That means I have until they’re done to get out of here. _

Ed stepped forward, hissing again at his ankle. He meant to make a beeline for the door, to get out of this place as fast as possible, but one of the photographs stopped him. 

He wanted to say that it was a photograph of his dad, but the person next to him couldn’t have been anyone else. Not while wearing those gloves. 

His ankle didn’t hurt as much when he stepped over to the hutch, picking up the photograph. It looked like a holiday picture, taken in the corner of a house. The corner of a banner, cozy sweaters, and good slacks. The two were tucked into one chair, clearly close. 

Himself and Roy Mustang. But, older. 

“The wedding photo is the big one in the back,” a voice said. 

Ed jumped and turned around. He would have accused the man of being his father if not for the photograph still clutched in his hand. 

“How?” Ed asked.

“How did I marry the bastard, or how are we talking?” Old Ed asked. 

“Both?” Ed looked back down at the photo in his hand. 

“I married him because I saw this,” Old Ed said. Ed peered up at him.

“Right,” Old Ed said, putting one of his hands up. “It’s a time loop. Truth being nice if you wanna think of it that way. Where you were? You should have been dead. But by visiting here,” Old Ed gestured around the room, “Your life has been saved.”

“So I’ll go back to where I was before,” Ed said.

“Few minutes after. Just long enough for it not to kill you.”

“How long will I be here?” Ed asked.

“Not much longer,” Old Ed said. He walked forward, snagging Ed’s chin and turning it one way, then the other. “Mm. Forgot how soft my face used to be.”

Ed glanced down at the photograph, then peered at Old Ed again. “When do we start looking like the old man?”

“About thirty or so,” Old Ed said. “It’s worse with the glasses. And the beard is inevitable.”

“Great,” Ed said. He scratched at some day-old stubble on his chin. “Is the bastard worth it?”

Old Ed smiled softly, gazing at the photo in Ed’s hand. “He is. That much I can promise.”

“What else should I know?”

“He’s going to be slow,” Old Ed said. “Hesitant, scared, worried for his reputation. Just be there.”

Old Ed glanced over his shoulder at the doorway, then leaned in. “When you get him alone, kiss him. It’ll kickstart the whole thing.”

“That sounds like I want to kiss him.”

“Don’t you?”

Ed opened his mouth to argue but stopped when he actually thought about it. 

“There you go,” Old Ed said. “It’s worth it. It’s all worth it.”

Ed handed the photograph to Old Ed, then looked up one more time.

“Then I’ve got something to live for.”

The air smelled like brimstone, and Ed gasped it in sharply again. 

“Fullmetal!” 

He looked up, saw Mustang peering over the edge of a crater. 

“How the fuck are you alive?”

“You wouldn’t believe me if I told you,” Ed said. He reached up as Mustang reached down. And once at the top, he would do everything to get to the happy ending.


End file.
